We Can Make This Work

I haven't said this here yet, so I'll say this now. This is my first fanfic, so sorry if the characters and plot feel rushed or if the pacing is fucked. Enjoy.

Year 3316 Mar 24

 "Ne ne, whatcha doing?" came an angelic voice.

 Cracked emerald eyes looked up from the pile of paperwork to look at the pale figure of his wife standing in the doorway. "If you must know, it's news from the south; that idiot made another appearance."

 She frowned at his reply, "You really know how to kill a mood, baka."

 A frown appeared on his face when he heard that accursed word again, "Tanya, I beg you, tell me what that word means,"

 The woman dared to crack a smile before running off and saying I would find out if I caught her; who does she think she was talking to; he could outspeed her by eons if he wanted to.

 Getting up, he stretched, doing it mostly on purpose to give her a head start. When done with that, he disappeared in a flicker, leaving nothing but displaced paper to prove he was there at one point.

 The halls of his palace flashed by him as he sped through the labyrinth that made up said palace; he could feel her presence get closer and closer the longer he ran, telling him that she was close.

 After a bit more time, he had caught up and cornered her into a room he was all too familiar with. Walking in, he saw the beautiful sight of his wife cradling Clementine, being ever careful to watch for the metal that lined her daytime garments; he couldn't help but sigh at it; he had meant to have his tailor remove the metal lining most of their wardrobe, but got too busy with paperwork and managing the kingdom.

 Shaking his head of such regrets, he made himself known. "You know, you could've asked me to see Clementine with you instead of turning it into a game of tag."

 She giggled a bit. "But where would be the fun in that? Besides, we never get to play anymore, so I figured a game of tag wouldn't hurt."

 "Maybe."

 She grinned at that. "Is the mighty ruler so far above us mere mortals that the idea of games bore him?"

 "Tanya, you know I didn't mean it like that."

 Her grin turned devilish. "Ohh, the tragedy, my husband doesn't like me anymore. Maybe he needs a thorough beating to remind him who's in charge here."

 At this sudden statement, he started sweating, "Honey, sweety, my darling, there's no need for that; I'm sure we can settle this like adults," he said while pulling on his suddenly tight collar.

 The satisfied smile on her face made his heart flutter as she continued, "I guess you're right, but this still can't go unpunished."

 His face drained of color as she said that. "Oh, and what might be the punishment... dear." He said while trying to keep up a shaky smile.

 She gestured for him to move forward. He did.

 "Sit." He did. 

 "Good." was what she said before sitting on his lap, "You must stay with Clem and me for the next four hours... after all, a father shouldn't miss his girl's first birthday."

 This both shocked and depressed him. He had been so caught up in his work that he forgot his girl's birthday. Tanya didn't let that continue.

 "Hey, no being sad; that's an order."

I tried to say something to refute it.

 "Quiet."

After a bit of silence... I spoke up. 

"I'm sorry."

 Tanya's reply was quick. "What's to be sorry for."

 "Forgetting Cle-"

"No."

 I was confused, "What?"

 She sighed, "Darling, you don't just run a country, but the whole world. Understandably, you forgot Clem's birthday; hell, you even forgot your birthday, let alone someone else's. But please don't beat yourself up over it. I'll never be upset with you because, despite being a King, you always try to be a father, even if you can't most of the time. And don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

 I couldn't do much but gawk. "... Are... are you sure?"

 Another smile replaced the frown that marred her face. "Positive."

 He couldn't help the few stray tears that escaped his grasp.

Tanya leaned her back against my chest, "Hold me."

 Not put off by her usual blunt demands, I wrapped my arms around both Tanya and Clem, being sure to pull them as close as I could without stabbing them with the metal buttons and such lining my robe.

 With a content sigh, I spoke. "I love you."

 her smile got just a bit softer. "I love you too... Baka."

 My lips twitched upward.

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 Planet Zero 

 Dull emerald eyes lay open in a daze; fresh tears flowed from them, painting what was once a pure white face with lines of undiscernible directions.

 Dreams are better than reality, but what do they cost?

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 Year 3392 Feb 18

 It was quiet for a bit; Kenny and his family were over by one of the counters; Lilly and the big man, now named Larry, were standing at the window; Carley was at the other counter working on what looked like a radio; Glenn wasn't doing much; Doug was at the front door peaking out.

 Most were on high alert because a few moments after we managed to get inside, a group of other survivors came by with guns; most of them were stupid and fired off rounds without checking their surroundings, which caused them to get overwhelmed and killed. Because of this, there are now more walkers out there than there were previously.

 Lilly and the rest talked about sending someone out to retrieve the guns of the fallen people but quickly had that idea dismantled when more walkers showed up. After that, everyone went quiet and did their own thing.

 Reaching back with his unoccupied hand, he pulled Super Dragon's Breath from his back in hopes of finding something to do to starve off his thoughts of the outside.

 Thankfully, it worked, just not like how he thought it would.

 "Nice piece you got there."

 The sudden addition of someone else made me jump A little, but not enough to wake Clem or drop the gun.

 Upon turning to the one who snuck up on me. I saw Carley.

 With a sigh that rivaled even the most tired people, I questioned. "What makes you say that?"

 She smiled, "What you have there is an FN SLP-12 gauge shotgun, most commonly known as a Twelve gauge."

He found it odd that she knew the exact model. "How'd you know?"

 Her smile turned a bit more sinister, "I may or may not have been an illegal gun owner at one point. But don't tell anyone else that, or I'll have to shoot you."

 He started sweating. "Noted."

 "See, you get it."

 "Anyway, what you have there is an FN SLP-12 gauge; they can carry up to nine rounds max without an extension of some kind; their burrels range from twenty-two inches to twenty-eight; they weigh about eightish pounds. Ohh! Another thing is they have a built-in gas-powered autoloader; I found the last part the coolest when I found out about it."

 I didn't want to bother. "As sinister as it is that you know all this, I wanted to ask you something."

 Her smile seemed to dem a little at the change of subject. "Alright, shoot."

"What's your deal with the Lilly girl?"

 That seemed to tick her off, "If you must know, she's an egoist bastard who wants nothing more than to be in control of everything."

 He couldn't help but think that this statement came from a biased perspective; if he wanted to know what she was like, he would have to ask a neutral party.

 But it never hurt to know more, even if it seemed to be from a corrupted side.

 "What makes her an egoist?" I said while subtly adjusting Clem.

 "When is she not; it started when she helped us escape from those things, and at the time, she didn't seem so bad, if not a bit strict at times, but I played that off as something caused by the current situation.

 But as the days went on, she became increasingly more controlling and demanding; it didn't help when her old man, Lary, kept backing her up, increasing her already bloated ego.

 The snapping point is when she kicked someone out of the store because he tried to sneak some more food; the bitch was merciless and beat him senselessly before literally throwing him out on his ass."

 Taking that with a grain of salt, he decided that it was best to move on from the subject of Lilly.

 A small silence fell between them before he spoke up again. "Got any shells?" he said while doing a light shake with the shotgun.

 She seemed to appreciate the subject change. "Unfortunately, I don't."

 "Shame."

 "But who knows, maybe we could find you a manual on how to make your own."

 A half-chuckle escaped me as I thought about it. "That is a dumpster fire waiting to happen, and I would not like to blow my fingers off if one of them explodes while in the gun."

 Another devilish smile laced her lips. "But then you could get a cool nickname; what's not to like?"

 "Ya, and you speak like Lilly's the devil."

 She gave a light chuckle at the jab. "Never said I wasn't one myself."

 "I don't like what you're insinuating."

 Another chuckle, "What, scared I'm going to bite your fingers off?"

 "Yes, actually, I am."

 That got a proper laugh out of her. "You know... Umm. What's your name?"

"I'm surprised you don't know it."

 "Unlike what you're thinking, I don't magically know someone's name as soon as I meet them."

 I was genuinely shocked by this, and that shock was visible on my face.

 "Hey, what's with that face?"

"It's nothing. I'm just shocked you didn't know. Considering you are a devil."

 Her face turned somewhat red, "That was metaphorical, dumbass; now tell me your name, or I'll walk away."

 I wanted to laugh but held it in to not embarrass her more than she already was. "It's Lee; my name is Lee."

 She seemed less embarrassed, "Well, Lee, as you may know, my name is Carley, and I've enjoyed our chat, but I'm going to go see if I can fix that radio over there. So I'll talk to you later."

 With her final piece said, she shot me a smile over her shoulder before walking away, most likely continuing what she was doing before coming over.

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 It was a little while later that something happened; Lilly and her dad were arguing about something when, out of nowhere, Lary hunched over, clutching at his chest while seemingly in pain.

 Kenny, Katjaa, and, surprisingly, Carley were the first ones over.

 With the extra weight of Clementine, the gun, and my healing leg. I was the last over, but I got there just in time to hear the part about Lary having a heart problem.

 Katjaa, the ever-kind one, spoke up. "He needs nitroglycerin pills."

"I know, but we used the last one yesterday; we've been trying to get into the pharmacy since we got here, but that damn thing won't budge, so if you could find a way in there, it would be much appreciated." Even Lilly's aggressive tone became quieter toward the end of her plea.

 I could see mixed feelings about this situation appear on everyone's face. Kenny looked reluctant, Carley looked conflicted, and Katja looked worried. For myself, I didn't feel much of anything; having just met the guy a few hours ago also played a part in my impassive feelings.

 The other two, Glenn and Doug, were keeping to themselves.

 After a tense moment, Kenny and Carley backed off. Their body language spoke their answer. Katjaa backed out a second later.

 I could name a reason for them denying to help. After what happened outside with Duck earlier, Kenny would want to stay close to him to both take care of him and alleviate some of the lingering guilt he had; Carley's reason would seem like a personal grudge to most people, but I could tell there was something else there; Katjaa's reason was simple and could fit almost everyone. What could she do?

 With a reluctant sigh, I stepped up. "I'll see what I can do."

 Lilly's previously downcast face seemed to brighten, but just a bit, as her father wasn't out of the woods yet.

 "Thanks, Lee. I appreciate the help."

 "It's all good; just look after your dad until I can get those pills."

 With that, I walked away, heading over to Kenny.

 He was in the middle of talking with Glenn and Carley, so I only caught the butt end of the conversation, but that wouldn't last for long.

 "Lee, come here for a second; I could use your opinion with something."

 Luckily for me, he needed something as well.

"Okay, go ahead, Glenn."

 "Well, as I was saying, this place isn't the best place to stay; not only is it cramped, but if the gate outside went down, we would all be stuck in here without a safe way out, so I was thinking about going on a little scouting mission to find us a more defensible place to stay."

 Carley spoke up first, "You know how dangerous out there is, right?"

"No need to worry; I know plenty of routes those things can't get to."

 "Okay, but if you get turned into a snack, I'm not retrieving your body."

"Thanks, Carley, I'm glad you care."

 "Just saying."

Carley seemed to have a knack for defusing tension because the once-serious-faced Glenn now dawned a small smile.

 Kenny must have said his part on it before he dragged me over here, so that left me; "If you think about it, it is both a good and bad idea, good because if you do manage to find somewhere we can stay, we can move further away from this walker infested city. Still, on the off chance that you don't, we could have just done all that to draw the attention of more walkers, making our already fragile abode turn into the equivalent of glass."

 A small silence fell over the mini-group, all in thought.

 That was until Kenny broke it. "Lee has a good point."

 Glenn spoke next. "He does, but I am willing to take the chance. If we don't leave now, we may not get another opportunity."

 Carley nodded her head at this before Kenny continued, "And I'm with you on that, but on the off chance that you do have some 'Walkers' tailing you on the way back, you should take a few detours to lose them, that way if you do come back with nothing, we'd still have time before this place falls."

 "So it's settled?" questioned Carley

"I'd say so; I'll go get ready, and hopefully, this all goes well."

 Glenn turned to walk away, but I stopped him.

 "Take this," I said while handing him the radio I got from Clem's kitchen. 

"If you find yourself in a bind, just use this, Clem has the other one, but she's asleep right now, so the walkie would most likely alert whoever is closest to her."

 "Okay, I'll keep this in mind, thanks Lee." With that, he walked away, most likely going out the back door.

 Looking back, Kenny and Carley had already walked away.

 Adjusting Clem again, I followed after Kenny. A moment later and Clem was gently placed in Kenny's arms, "Thanks again, Kenny."

 "There's no need to thank me, Lee."

"I know, but you still have to take care of Duck, and adding Clementine, even for a short while, is a lot to ask of one person."

 "Lee, you're acting like I don't have help," he said while gesturing to Katjaa.

 If he was to be completely honest, he had forgotten about her, and Kenny could see that.

 Rubbing the back of my head. "My bad."

"It's fine, but you should do whatever you're going to do fast because I don't think Clementine would like waking up in the arms of a stranger."

 "But you're not a stranger."

"To you, but to Clementine, I'm just a guy who met her father by chance."

 He was tempted to speak up now and tell him he wasn't her father but decided to put that off until later.

 "Ya, good point; I'll try to make it quick."

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 This was going terribly; he'd been looking for a way into the pharmacy for a while now, and so far, his efforts have been rewarded with nothing.

 Stepping through the all-to-familiar door that led to the back, he noticed a few things; almost immediately, a family portrait lay face up for all to see. Its picture showed a sweet elderly couple, a young man who looked about twenty years old, and it showed... a picture of Lee Everet...

 I looked at the picture with disdain before walking over, pulling the photo out, and ripping Myself out of it, leaving only Mom, Dad, and my little brother. I couldn't think of anything more fitting for what I had done.

 With a resigned sigh, I laid the picture face down just as someone else entered the room.

 "You find anything?"

From the voice, he could tell it was Carley. "Nothing that would help."

 "...I know who you are."

 I tried to play dumb, "What do you mean?"

 She looked a bit annoyed at me for trying to dodge the conversation.

"You are Lee Everet, a college professor who killed a state senator for sleeping with his wife. I followed your case until the end and was sorely disappointed to hear you had been sentenced to prison."

 Since she knew anyway, I added, "And they were right to do so."

 Carley looked a bit miffed at what I said, "No, they weren't; even from a fucking tv screen, I could tell they set you up to fail so they could keep their reputation clean; people like that piss me off."

 He wished he had a counter for how many times he sighed since this whole thing started, "Carley, it doesn't matter who was right or wrong; I killed somebody, and that's not okay."

 "But you didn't mean to, and the bastard started it; you even said so when you were on defense."

 "Nothing I say anywhere will bring back the person I killed."

You could tell she was frustrated with this. "But... Just... Why?"

 While her face was full of frustration, mine was neutral.

 "Why what?" I asked in confusion.

 "Why'd you give up... You could have continued to fight for your freedom... Your rights and your justification. So why did you give up? Why did you let go?"

 My answer was simple. "Because what would I have to go back to?"

 This made her go quiet.

I wanted to change the topic, "I lied about not finding something helpful." I picked up the face-down photo and turned it on to her.

 Pointing to my little brother, "Find him, and you find the keys to the pharmacy."

 She nodded and turned to leave but stopped a few feet away from the door, "I'll keep this stuff to myself. So don't make me regret it."

 Dawning a smile, she most likely didn't see, "Thanks, Carley."

 Had he been at the door, he would have noticed the small smile that paved her lips at his recognition.

 After she left, he was left with a silent room and his lonesome thoughts, and it was only now that he noticed how much Clementine's presence affected him.

 But he pushed through it; he had to focus on getting those pills right now.

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 After about thirty minutes in the back, he returned with a few things in hand, which included his dad's old cane, an old TV remote, and a small medkit.

 I leaned the cane against the wall and put the medkit on the counter while pocketing the TV remote. With some small deductions from the back, I had a strong feeling that the keys would be somewhere outside, so I B lined straight toward the door, determined to see if I was right.

 I was getting ready to head out when Doug spoke up from his peaking position at the door, "Hey, mind if I tag along?"

 This confused me a bit, "You can, but can I ask why?"

 He looked embarrassed at the questioning, "Well, to tell the truth, I kinda just wanna be helpful. Out of everyone here, I can't help but think of myself as the weakest link."

 Not having any reason to say no, I agreed to let him tag along, but I did remind him before we went out that he was not to make any noise louder than a whisper; he was quick to agree.

 Apon, stepping out, one thing immediately became evident. There were a lot more Walkers than he previously thought. Ignoring them, he pulled out the photo he had taken from the back and showed it to Doug.

 Pointing to his little brother, "Look for someone who looks like him; if you see him, let me know." 

 As we were about to start looking for my brother, we were interrupted by some panicked whispers, "Lee, get your ass in here."

 Thinking it wasn't wise to ignore the call, I turned to Doug, "You think you can stay out here and look while I go see what's going on?" 

 Doug looked hesitant but soon nodded. 

"Okay, if I'm not back out in thirty minutes, then head back inside and wait, okay?"

 "Sounds good."

With a final nod, I turned around and crept back inside to see what all the noise was about.

 Almost as soon as I stepped through the door, Kenny Called out. "Lee, It's Glenn."

As soon as I heard it was Glenn, I knew something had gone wrong on his side. Grabbing the Walkie from Kenny's hands, I spoke, "Glenn, you there?"

 There was some static for a second, but then the radio lit up with life, "I'm here, and I could use some help right about now."

 "Where are you?"

"I'm at a motor inn just outside of town."

 "Okay, just sit tight for a moment; me and someone else will be down there to help soon."

 "Sounds good. I'm going to go silent until you get down here."

 With that, the radio's once vibrant life flickered out, leaving nothing but static.

 "Okay, Kenny, you staying or going." His answer was almost instant

"I'll be staying."

 "Okay, what about you, Carley?"

"Damn right."

 "Alright, Kenny, I need to extend your caretaking responsibility. You okay with that?"

 "Exciting."

 That got a smile out of me, "If Clem wakes up before I get back, just tell her I'll be back in a bit."

 "Got it."

 Looking over toward Lilly. "I'll get the pills as soon as I get back."

 She didn't respond.

 With a sigh, Carley and I left out the back exit and headed to the motor inn.

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 The Motor Inn  

 Coming up on the Motor Inn, we could see Glenn crotched beside an ice box, peaking around the corner, probably trying to keep an eye out for any walkers wandering too close.

 Doing our best to be quiet, we made our way over to him. Almost immediately after that, we heard multiple pairs of hands banging on one of the metal doors of the inn.

 "Glad you guys could make it."

Carley was the first to speak. "Trust me; we are far more glad to make it."

 "Could you not be sarcastic right now? You know, because of our little friends right over yonder."

 She chuckled, "And where would the fun in that be?"

"You're insane."

 "Nu-uh."

 Before either could continue their spate, I spoke up. "That's enough. Glenn, could you explain why you called for help when it's obvious you would've been fine?"

 "Ya, Lee has a good point. Why'd you make us come out here?"

 "Ohh ya, that. I want you guys to help me clear this place."

"Okay, and you call me crazy."

 "Hear me out; if we clear this place, we could use it as our new camp. I've counted, and there are only six or seven walkers we'd need to take out for this place to be secure, not to mention the amount of protection this place would give. It has a metal gate that could be fortified. Stone walls line most of the inn, and metal doors with some heavy locks. There is no way a walker would get past that by themselves."

 Glenn brought up a lot of good points, and if they did manage to clear this place, it could work as a decent shelter.

 But that was if. They would still have to get the others on board with the move and clear the place before that, so they had some hurdles ahead.

 "Carley, what do you think of this?"

 She looked down with a pensive stare before raising her head again, "I say we go for it."

 Both she and Glenn turned to me after that, waiting for my response. 

 I sighed, "Okay, let's get this over with before we take this plan to the others. It would give them more incentive to agree to it."

 Pulling Super Dragon's Breath off my back, I moved toward the unsuspecting walker sitting next to an RV; walking up, I primed my arm and swung with as much force as I could put in it; the gun struck the side of the walker's head, putting a literal dent in it.

 After waiting a bit, the thing didn't get up, so he moved on to the next one. I motioned for Carley to take out the walker that was missing its legs.

 After a short struggle, she lodged a screwdriver into the thing's head; it ceased all movement afterward.

 Moving onto the next one, Glenn helped Carley push the propped-up car off the jacks, keeping it up. It rolled forward, pinning another walker to the wall, giving me the chance to take out the walker on the other side of the RV while it was distracted by the struggling noises the other was making.

 Looking over at the walker pinned to the wall, I saw Glenn take the emergency fire axe from the wall next to it and nearly split its head in half, with Carley stabbing it with the screwdriver for extra precaution.

 After that, we moved upstairs, where we could see more walkers banging on one of the doors and frightened cries coming from the said door.

 Glenn was the first to speak, "So, am I the only one thinking we're deaf?"

Caley pitched, "Not just you."

 I was the last, "I can attest to that."

 "What do you say, Lee; this place is out of town, and we just took out the walkers in the lot, so these up here should be the last of them. Want to use the gun to make it quicker?"

 It was tempting, "No, Glenn, ready that axe; I'll take one, and you take the other."

 Glenn gave a silent nod before standing up and moving to the first walker; I was soon to follow.

 Since they were still banging on the door, it was easy to sneak up on them. Glenn raised his axe from above and brought it down, using gravity and strength to cleave its head in half, while I used the door as a board and smashed the other's head against it with a force that seemed unnatural.

 Carley came over after the two were dealt with, and the following conversation with the person inside left Glenn disheartened.

 After some more talking, Glenn and Carley went down while I stayed and grabbed the gun after they were done.

 When I went down after the deed was done, I gestured them over, "We need to start heading back before it gets dark out.

 They both just nodded in silence.

 We were gone moments later.

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 Back At The Pharmacy

 When we walked through the door, I could feel the tension in the room melt.

 "Good to see you guys got back in one piece."

"Wow, what a nice way of saying, 'Wow, you didn't die!"

 This got a chuckle from Kenny. "You could say that," he said while adjusting Clem.

 "Glad to see we're so loved."

This put a slight smile on my face. "Come on, Carley, calm the jokes down for now; we still need to tell him about the plan."

 "I'm going to have to agree with Lee on this one; as much of a joy as it is to hear your ohh so-funny jokes, we need to focus on safety first."

 "Ohh, come on, Glenn, you know you love them."

"Kill me now."

 "See, even you have some good ones every blue moon."

 I could tell that Glenn was so done, so I interrupted, "Kenny, how's Clem been?"

 "Still asleep."

 "Good; hopefully, by the time she wakes up, we'll already be at the inn."

 Kenny looked confused at the news, "What do you mean?"

"Carley and Glenn can explain it; I need to get those pills as soon as possible so we can all be ready by the time it's time to leave."

 With that, I walked back over to the front door I was at a while ago and saw Doug waiting.

 "You find anyone who matched the picture while I was gone?"

Doug smiled a bit, "I did."

 "Okay, show me so we can come up with something to get to him."

 When we stepped outside, I could tell that the number of walkers had dwindled while I was away, which was probably one of the better outcomes.

 Doug pulled me out of my thoughts, "He's over there, under the power poll."

 Looking at where he was pointing, I couldn't help the small surge of guilt that attacked me when I saw the deformed sight of my little brother. Half of his body was crushed under a pole while the upper portion lay motionless.

 With a sigh, I looked around for something that would help distract them long enough for me to go out and grab the keys. But nothing showed itself a good distraction.

 That's when I noticed some TVs across the road; thinking it was worth a shot, I pulled out the old remote and pointed it at the cluster, but when I pressed the power button, nothing happened; when I went to put the thing back in my pocket, Doug stopped me.

 "You know that could work; you'd just need to reprogram it to universal."

 This had me confused, "Can you even do that?"

 "Yep, being a cameraman for most of my adult years helped me learn a lot about electronics."

 "Okay, that's interesting, but how would you even reprogram a remote."

"Here, give it to me, and I'll show you. You see, every remote is programmed for a TV, but there is a secret program added on so they could make the remote multi-purpose, but that wasn't ever told to the public because for obvious reasons." With that said, he pointed the remote at the TV cluster and pressed power.

 They instantly sparked to life, and at first, he thought it worked because a few walkers looked its way, but they soon started to ignore it.

 Before a sigh could escape me, Doug spoke. "It's the window; can you find something to break it from here?"

 "Indeed I can." A stray stone brick sat just in front of the closed gate. The thing was, there was a lock on it.

 "Doug, I need you to go back inside and get that axe from Glenn."

Doug could tell what I was going to so he nodded and went inside to get it. A moment later, he returned with a bright red fire axe.

 Grabbing the axe and lining its trajectory up with the lock, I swung down with force more than necessary and ripped the thing off. We went still after that, waiting for the walker's attention to revert to whatever they were focusing on in the first place; slowly, I pried the gate open and reached for the brick. 

 Getting a good grip on it, I pulled it back in and adjusted said grip into something more comfortable before arching my arm back and hurdling it at the glass window.

 The window shattered and released the noise it was keeping in, properly getting the walker's attention. "Stay here and be ready to shut this gate."

 "Right, good luck."

 With that, I made my way out and onto the cracked pavement, slowly advancing to my targeted position. It didn't take long until I stood by my little brother.

 It's odd; usually, people would break down at the sight of one of their closest family members dead on the ground, but all I could do was think of how hard he must have fought to protect both Mom and Dad before he died; not that Dad would even appreciate the help, he was a bit on the aggressive side, always trying to do thing's himself despite how old he was.

 With a long morning sigh, I raised the axe above my head and said, "You did well... Brother," before I brought the axe down through his skull. With one last mournful look, I reached down and grabbed the keys.

 I held them up in the air for Doug to see. But that didn't get the reaction I wanted, "Lee, get over here now!" That's when I saw why.

 The small herd of walkers had turned around and started a march toward me. Caution thrown to the wind, I bolted to the gate, getting in just fast enough for Doug to close it before they got too close.

 After he did, we both bolted inside. While leaving them out.

 Once we were back inside, we both took a breath.

Lilly was the first to ask, "What happened out there?"

 I responded by holding up the keys.

 Her reaction was almost immediate, "Thank god, You're a fucking lifesaver, Lee. Now let's get those pills."

 "Okay. Kenny, I'll take Clementine when I come back."

"I'll be waiting."

 With that, I made my way to the pharmacy door with Lilly by my side; as I was about to unlock it, Lilly spoke up, "I mean what I said, Lee, you are a lifesaver."

 I didn't know how to feel about the praise, so I remained silent.

 With a twist of the key, the door swung open, revealing the untouched medicine inside. Without caution, we stepped inside, intent on getting the pills, but to both our horror, an alarm tripped, sending everything into a burst of noise.

 I looked at Lilly with some panic, "Let's find the pills and get the fuck out of here!"

 She could only nod before we both dashed off into different aisles.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 We rushed back into the front with pills in hand. Lilly took the pills and rushed to her father's side while I rushed to Kenny's, taking the still drowsy but awake Clementine from his arms.

 "Lee, lend me that axe! I might need it on my way to the truck."

 "Here, take it!"

 "Guys! That door is not closed anymore!" What followed was the sound of a metal gate being pulled open.

 "Shit! You three hold the door; I'll pull the truck around, so try and hold out until then!" With that, Kenny sprinted out.

 Doug, Carley, and Glenn held the door before Katjaa called for assistance with something. Glenn went, leaving a spot empty.

 "Lee! Help us out over here!"

"Shit." Putting a mostly awake Clementine on the ground, I ran to help while yelling back to her. "Stay away from the windows!"

 With a lot of struggling, we managed to keep the doors closed.

 "Lee! If we don't make it through this, I want you to know,' that you're a great guy."

 I went slack jaw at this, "Now's really' not the time for this!"

Yet the trend continued, "Doug if we don't make it through this, I want you to know-" She couldn't continue because the door was almost forced open.

 "I should know what?!" 

 Before she could answer, the shelf next to Doug was pushed down, letting in a few walkers.

 Carley was quick to react; pulling out her gun, she shot them in the head. But this left one spot open, which put more strain on us. He needed something to help keep the door closed, but neither he nor Doug could move from their spots.

 That's when the most unexpected help came in the form of a fully awake Clementine.

 "Clementine, could you look for something to stick between the handles?"

 She looked scared but nodded anyway, going to find something to keep the door closed.

 After a second, I called out, "Clementine! Did you find anything?"

 "Not yet! Wait!" She ran off after that; he could only assume she found something.

 "Lee, that window's screwed!"

Looking to his left, he could see Doug was right, "Go!"

 With that, it was only Lee there to hold it, but he wouldn't have to for long because he could see Clem running toward him with an all too familiar cane.

 "Here!"

 Taking the cane, he shoved it through both door handles, effectively locking it shut.

 But it was then that he heard the shattering of glass and wood; he only caught a glimpse of Doug being pulled through the window and into the hoard. After that, the sound of screams and tearing flesh could be heard.

 He heard another scream and turned to see a walker grabbing Carley's leg while she was trying to reach the extra mag she left on the counter; not wanting the same fate to befall Carley, he rushed over and grabbed the extra mag before tossing it to her.

 "Thanks for the help."

 "Stay focused."

 The little exchange ended when Kenny burst in from the back door, "Let's Go!"

 "Clem! Get To The Back!"

"O-Okay."

 As she ran toward the door, a walker appeared and grabbed her; she tumbled to the ground and began to try and pry her leg from its grasp. As he ran over to help, he was instead left in shock as he watched her rip apart the walker's arm and get away.

 But he ignored it and set it aside for later while bringing out the shotgun; as he ran by the walker that had its arm mangled, he bashed its head in. before continuing his charge for the back door.

 He was a few feet away when Lary showed up and decked him in the face. Falling to the ground, I could only groan as I held my nose in pain.

 After a minute, I had managed to stand again. "Lee! are you good!? 

"Aside from a bloody nose, I'm good."

 "Fuck, it was that bastard, wasn't it?!"

"We'll deal with it later, let's get to the fucking truck."

 Kenny looked frustrated but agreed with a nod, and they both took off.

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 Motor Inn

 Despite the recent disaster that was the drugstore, it was somewhat lively in the motel parking lot; the ever-lively Duck was going on and on about how cool something was, with a smile that could rival the sun.

 Kenny and Katjaa were going through a box in the back of the truck; Clem was walking around watching others do things; Lary was being a dick; Lilly was piling bodies; Carley was... somewhat depressed, and I couldn't blame her; she didn't even get to see Doug one last time before the walkers got him.

 And Glenn was listening to the news on the radio. From what I could hear, he was listening to the areas hit by walkers, and the one he seemed to react to the most was Atlanta.

 Walking up to him, he spoke, "I think I need to go."

"To Atlanta?"

 "Ya, I got friends there."

"You did hear the radio say it was one of the worst hits, right?"

 "I heard, but as I said, I've got friends there. And I don't like the idea of sitting here all safe and somewhat cozy when they could be trapped there."

 You could tell my voice was starting to wear. "Listen, I won't try to stop you, but I will say that if you don't find them and come back, I can't guarantee we'll still be here."

 There was a moment of silence. 

"You guys, be safe."

 ..."Ya, you too."

Without another word, Glenn got in the cab and drove off.

 When I turned around, the sight of Kenny waving me over was the most prominent.

"What is it?"

 "Lee, we need to deal with Larry."

"You're still on about that?"

 "Of course I am; not only did the bastard nearly get you killed with that little stunt back at the drugstore, but he's just overly aggressive, and I don't trust him to be around Duck and Clementine."

 Looking at the two mentioned, I could see one talking the other's ear off.

 "Okay, I'll deal with Lary in a bit."

"Good, because if you don't, I will, and it will be with the more violent approach."

 A mute silence laid over us after that declaration. "Also, maybe I shouldn't talk about this now, but I need to know, where are Clementine's real parents?"

 I could tell what Kenny was thinking; that put a light smile on my face. "if you're trying to ask if I kidnapped her. I didn't."

 Kenny looked like someone caught with their pants down, "No, that is not what I'm asking! Well, kinda... but still, not like that!"

 I was having a good laugh at his distress. "it's okay, Kenny, I'm just pulling your leg," I said as more laughs threatened to bubble up.

 Wiping the tears from my eyes, I told Kenny about how I met Clementine. Leaving the part before that out.

 After the summary, I could see Kenny looking at Clementine with some pity and sadness mixed. "So they're gone..."

 "Unfortunatly..."

"I'm not looking forward to the day Clementine figures out there gone."

 "You? You're not the one who made her the promise."

"You're right, and until that day comes, Katjaa and I would be more than willing to pray for you."

 "Your religious?"

"Katjaa is; I just picked it up to make her happy."

 "That still makes you religious."

Kenny ignored the jab, "I think you'll do a fine job."

 Slightly confused, I asked, "What do you mean?"

"With Clementine. You'll do just fine with Clementine."

 "... Is that so..."

 "Someone doubting themselves?"

 It was my turn to ignore his jab. "Na, just surprised you think so highly of me."

 Kenny's face went flat, "You're one ostensible guy, you know that."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

 Kenny started walking away, "It means nothing at all. You should go cheek on Clementine."

 There wasn't anything I could say as he walked back to Katjaa's side.

 Looking back at Clem, the sight of her mangling a walker's arm popped into his head, but it was ignored in favor of going to see why she looked so disheartened. 

 On the way over, I shot Larry a glace of warning. He just scoffed and turned away.

 Walking up to Clem, I interrupted Duck and told him to give her some space; being okay with this, Duck walked back over to Kenny and Katjaa, probably to talk their ears off instead; I only had enough capacity to feel bad for Katjaa; Kenny not so much.

 "Hey Clem, what's wrong?"

 She sat there in silence, looking at her walkie.

 "Did something happen to it?"

"... It's broken."

 "How'd that happen?"

"It happened when we were leaving the store. When that thing grabbed me, I fell on my walkie; now it won't turn on." 

 He could tell Clem was on the verge of crying. 

"Here, let me look at it."

 She handed him the walkie, and he started fiddling around with it, turning it on and off, taking out the batteries, and giving it a few smacks. Nothing seemed to work, and just as I was about to give up, the green sparks from last time appeared, turning the radio on.

 I could hear the small gasp Coming from Clementine, "You fixed it!"

Going with the flow and ignoring the supernatural aspect of what just happened, "I did."

 "Thank you so much, Lee! You're the best!" She said while hugging me.

"Am I." was said in a soft enough whisper that he hoped she wouldn't hear him.

 Unfortunately for him, she somehow managed to.

"You Are!"

 Letting out a light-hearted scoff, "Well, I guess I am."

 "Hey Lee, come here for a second." The moment was interrupted by Larry.

Having a partial idea of what was to happen during this conversation, "Okay, give me a moment, and I'll be right over."

 "Clem, why don't you go spend time with Kenny and Katjaa."

 "Are you sure?"

 "Positive."

 She looked nervous, so I pulled her into a hug. "Don't worry, Kenny doesn't bite."

 That got a giggle from her.

After a second or two, Clem's nerves seemed to calm down, so I let her go from the hug.

 She started backing away while looking at me. "You're the best, Lee." Was with a smile that no other could match.

 After that, she ran off.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 "What do you want, Larry."

Lary didn't beat around the bush, "What do you think of my daughter?"

I had spent arguably less time with her than I did with Doug, so I didn't have a strong opinion yet. 

 "She's fine."

 That seemed like the wrong thing to say. "Fine, eh? Well then, just fuck you, Lee Everet."

 His mention of my full name almost made me stop all thoughts, and he could see that.

 "That's right, I know who you are, and I know you're a killer, and if you go near my daughter or step out of line once, so will everyone else."

 He wasn't done as he stepped closer, "I know who you are, and I don't give a shit about what happens to you, but if anything happens to my daughter or that little girl, you got with you. Hmm, You watch your ass."

 With that, he pushed past and walked away.

Before I could fully process what had happened, Lilly spoke up.

 "Hey, Lee, you got a minute."

I stayed silent.

 She continued, "My dad would be dead if it weren't for you."

The remainder of Lilly's dad possibly dying brought up some lingering guilt.

 "That guy Doug is dead because of me; I don't think I deserve thanks."

 Lilly's seemed to harden, "Don't be like that; there's only so much one person can do."

 "That's the problem; I'm always too late to save someone... and I'm afraid that one day, it will be Clementine."

 There was a pregnant silence.

 "I believe you'll make it."

 "What..."

 "God help us if she ever does. But if she did, you'd make it."

 This helped a lot more than Lilly would ever know. "How do you know?"

She gave a miniscel smile, "Just a feeling."

 Before I could continue questioning her, gunfire went off in the distance.

"I hope that's the sound of us winning this thing."

 Lilly hummed in agreement while I stayed silent and let Kenny continue, "This motor inn is pretty damn defendable; if we could get some cars to block off the other entrances and keep somebody on watch, we could stay here until the military rolls through.

 Lillys seemed to like this idea. "I actually agree with that plan."

 Not finding it to be a bad idea, I pitched in. "Sound's like a plan."

"We got beds, we got water, and most importantly, we got light."

 The last thing I saw before we were all enveloped by darkness was Clementine's smiling face.